THE PAINTED FOREST

For my senior thesis, I wanted to challenge myself with a hybrid project that encompassed many fields of art and design. Overall, I ended with a project covering illustration, animation, layout, web design, advertising, branding, packaging, and product design, and copyrighting. Completing this project was easily one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had while at Tyler, and I am so proud to have created a piece that so clearly represents me and my personality in its design.

The Painted Forest is a children’s book I wrote based on a crazy idea I’ve had since a young girl. The story tells a tale of a magical forest on the island of Maui where the plants of the forest transform into animals at night. Each character is based off of a flower found in real life and then transformed into a uniquely stylized animal while still holding true to the flower’s appearance. This bright and colorful book is accompanied by a hand-crafted marimba, tree planting kit, animation, and website. Finally, while researching various ways children’s books are advertised, I decided to explore the idea of a poster series that could be used as a form of advertising in bookstores.